


Housemates

by Raberba girl (Raberba_girl)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Prophecy (Final Fantasy XV), Alternate Universe - No Royalty, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Asexual Noctis Lucis Caelum, Cats, Demi Ignis Scientia, Don’t copy to another site, Gen, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:47:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raberba_girl/pseuds/Raberba%20girl
Summary: No Prophecy/Magic/Royalty AU where the chocobros meet each other for the first time as college roommates.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1.1

_Housemates_ , a Final Fantasy XV fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 1.1 (rough draft)

****If you paid money to read this work of fanfiction, that means it was stolen and reposted without the author's knowledge or consent. Please do not support apps or web sites that repost without permission and/or illegally profit off of other people's work.**

Summary: No Prophecy/Magic/Royalty AU where the chocobros meet each other for the first time as college roommates.

A/N: Warning for brief mentions of Prompto being ashamed of his body and ethnicity (not here, but in Chapter 1.2). Later chapters might get more into detail about his weight; I will try my best to be sensitive.

There will be some non-graphic incidents later of Gladio sleeping around with throwaway OCs (which I do not condone, ftr), but this fic is gen at heart; I don't romantically ship any of the chocobros with each other.

o.o.o

Regis and Aulea Lucis Caelum loved their only child very much, but by the time he graduated high school, it became evident that there had been some weak points in their parenting. Perhaps they'd spoiled Noctis too much, or hadn't given him the right type of affection and attention.

Noctis hadn't made very many friends at school, certainly no close ones, and he spent a slightly concerning amount of time holed up in his room. He rarely left the house unless he had to, and of course, there was the chronic insomnia. He hadn't wanted to go to college or get a job, hadn't wanted to do _anything_ after graduation, and it had taken some persuasion to get him to agree to even a year of higher education.

"Tough love, you think?" Aulea suggested a little uncertainly as they lay in bed one night, listening to the faint sound of Noct's video game drifting down the hall. "Of course we'd pay for his schooling and basic needs, but maybe we should...give him some responsibility in other areas."

"Maybe we should have him start filling out his own paperwork?" Regis suggested diffidently. "Let him choose where he'll live?"

"We won't throw him in the deep end without help, but yes, I think we've coddled him a little too much. He...he _is_ a legal adult now, after all."

So, yes, they might have pressured their son to attend college and heavily hinted at which school to select, but he did fill out some of the paperwork himself, with help, and he did select the house he wanted to rent, with help (though he changed his selection at the last minute without consulting them). He was growing up a little. They were proud of him.

Regis peered through the windshield at the increasingly narrow, irregular roads and tried not to be nervous. Stray animals were everywhere, especially cats wandering the sidewalks or lounging on porches. An uncollared dog who was clearly nursing puppies trotted out of sight around a corner.

They finally pulled up in front of Noct's new home away from home. It had surely been a sweet little place once, but now the paint was peeling, the yard was full of weeds, and there were cracks in the patio and rust on the drainpipe. "It's very...quaint," Aulea said bravely as they got out of the car. Regis smiled and hardened his determination to be supportive.

There was a cat lying right across the front walk, white with a black spot on its forehead and the tip of its tail. Noctis crouched down and held out a piece of the half-eaten burger from his lunch. The cat sniffed at it politely, then took it from the young man's fingers and chewed. "Oh, _Noct_!" Aulea suddenly gasped. "You only chose this place because of the cats, didn't you!"

"No, I didn't," Noctis complained. He stood up with the cat in his arms and cuddled it. There were two more cats lounging on the patio and another stalking off behind the house.

"Son, you absolutely chose this place because of the cats," Regis said, attempting to be stern but sounding much more fond than he'd meant to.

Noctis sighed and turned to face them, still cradling the purring cat. "Fine. Someone mentioned in one of the reviews that there were cats all over, so I came to look and there were and...it made me happy."

Regis and Aulea were silent for a long moment. It pained them that Noctis so rarely seemed to be happy. He had been such a bright, joyous child, but after the accident when he'd been eight, his smiles and moments of contentment had been few and far between.

Aulea drew in a deep breath, then said briskly, "Well, I'm glad to hear it! Let's start moving you in."

"Do you have the key?" Regis asked.

"Uh...." Noctis felt in both his pockets, came up empty, and lowered his head over the cat, cuddling it closer.

They soon found the key in the car (it had evidently fallen out of his pocket) and proceeded to move Noct's things from the car into the house. Aulea opened some windows to air out the musty smell. "Is this the only bathroom?" she remarked, peering into it. "How many roommates will you have, darling?"

"Two or three," Noctis said carelessly, not seeming to give any thought to the idea that it might be inconvenient for three or four strangers to have to share a single bathroom. Regis and Aulea exchanged a look, but stayed quiet.

The upper floor consisted of nothing but two bedrooms, decently sized for an average house but small compared to what Noctis was used to. He chose the one farther from the stairs, which contained a bare double bed, a shabby desk, a small shelf, and a closet that was empty except for three mismatched hangers.

"Huh," Regis remarked when they put Noct's custom-made mattress topper on the bed. The bed was smaller than the mattress topper.

"Oh dear - darling, do try not to fall off," Aulea said. "We'll order you another one as quick as we can, all right?" With Noct's back the way it was, it was essential for his bed to be comfortable.

"I'm not a little kid, Mom," Noctis protested.

Once everything was inside, they locked up the house again and went out to dinner. Regis and Aulea smiled in relief to see their son a little more animated than usual, talking about what he was going to name the white cat and the most recent video game he played. Then they did a bit of shopping and drove him back to his house, hugged and kissed him as long as he permitted them to, and very reluctantly got back into the car to leave.

Noct stood watching the car vanish down the street. Then he went into the house and sat on the couch. The white cat, whom he'd named Carbuncle, had trotted inside with him, and he petted Carbuncle for a while. The house was very quiet and still except for an occasional creepy popping sound. Noct suddenly stood up and went outside again and coaxed some more cats into the house. That was a little better - a little less lonely.

He fetched one of his handheld game systems and a bag of chips and played on the couch until he felt tired, which was a little after two in the morning. He knew he should go up to his room with the comfortable mattress, that his back would complain in the morning if he didn't, but he was so tired...and Carbuncle was sleeping on his chest, anyway. He couldn't disturb the cat....

His eyes drifted closed.

o.o.o

Despite the coffee, Ignis felt a little detached as he navigated through the narrow streets, seeing but not really taking in the view until he realized he must have missed his turn. Then he spent several frustrating minutes backtracking multiple times until he finally located the faded sign with the name of the street he was looking for. The neighborhood was full of character, but it was also old and not in the most prosperous area of town.

However, beggars could not be choosers, and while Ignis had been fortunate enough to be permitted to keep the trappings of an easy life, he was far from it in reality and would have to make the best of it until he'd worked his way into true security.

There was no garage, so he gingerly parked his car in the tiny, uncovered driveway, which had grass and weeds growing thickly through multiple large cracks. He stepped out into the early morning sunlight and took a moment to assess the house, which he was seeing in person for the first time. It looked both better and worse than it had in the photographs: good bones but depressingly run-down. It had been a nice house, once, in a nice neighborhood, but that had clearly been a long time ago.

The cracked windowpane was cause for concern, but he liked the look of the back patio extending a bit beyond the edge of the house. Hopefully he could cultivate a raised garden there and eventually be able to save money on ingredients.

He called out as he entered the house, wondering if any of his flatmates had arrived before him. The first thing he noticed was that, to his horror, the house was full of vermin. Dirty, unkempt street cats were all over the place, some ignoring him, others gazing at him warily. He'd have to find whatever hole they'd slipped in through and seal it up at once.

He spent a few minutes shooing cats out the front door, and only while looking around for any that he'd missed did he realize there was another human being in the house.

A young man was fast asleep on the small couch, probably Noctis Lucis Caelum if the hair and body type were any indication (from the profiles Ignis had looked up, Gladiolus Amicitia was a very masculine-looking junior and Prompto Argentum was a freckled blond freshman). A bit of drool shone on Noctis's jaw and one arm dangled to the floor, but his chest was rising and falling with soft regularity.

One last cat was crouched over him, and it hissed at Ignis when he looked at it. It didn't respond to his attempts to shoo it away, and when he finally managed to shut it outside, it came right back in a few moments later through one of the open windows and hid under the couch where Noctis continued to sleep unmoving. Ignis sighed, gave up for the moment, debated whether to close the windows, decided against it in order to let the cat hair and other contaminants air out, then inspected the rest of the house.

Facing the front door was a staircase, and behind it was tucked a small, plain bedroom. On the other side of the staircase was a small closet and cramped bathroom, which Ignis absolutely did not look forward to having to share with three other people. To the left of the front door was the tiny living room where Noctis slept, with the couch, a couple of armchairs, and a small credenza all crammed on top of a faded rug with threadbare spots. A transition space with a dented table where they were evidently expected to eat was unfortunately situated almost right outside the bathroom door, but past that was the kitchen.

Ignis examined it, feeling the knot of displeasure in his gut loosen a little. _This_ was why he'd finally settled on this particular house, the least terrible of all his bad options. For all its faults, this place was the only one he could afford that had a decently-sized kitchen. His uncle was covering all his school-related expenses and had been willing to pay for a dormitory, but after that first horrible semester, Ignis had decided that he _could not_ live anywhere without a real kitchen, even if it meant having to cover rent himself and suffer other privations. He needed a stove, oven, sink, counter space, and full-size refrigerator. He'd found a decent place for his second semester, but the rent had been too high for his budget and he'd had to downsize for his sophomore year.

This kitchen had all his requirements, as well as a view of the small back yard out the large windows and a door to the back patio. There was decent storage space, the water ran hot eventually, the refrigerator was dirty but serviceable, and three of the four stove burners worked. He'd have to see about getting the fourth repaired soon. There were a few battered, terribly mismatched utensils scattered throughout the drawers, but he would need much more than that, and considering his tight funds, he would be forced to search through thrift shops for some of them. Properly equipping a kitchen wasn't cheap.

There wasn't much upstairs: only two bedrooms, one of which was already filled with personal possessions. Ignis claimed the other one. His clothes took a while to unpack and put away properly, but he didn't have much else. He wanted to procure cleaning supplies before he filled the desk and shelves. He did his best to knock dust out of the mattress outside before outfitting it with bedding.

Arranging his things in the bathroom took a little longer, mostly because that was how long he spent coming to terms with the fact that there was almost nowhere to put them. There was a medicine cabinet on the wall, a very small storage cupboard above the sink, a single towel rack, and a hook on the back of the door; that was it. Cleaning supplies could conceivably be stored under the kitchen sink and spare towels in the closets, but Ignis wondered where they were expected to store things such as extra toilet paper. There was a brand-new package of it, with a single roll removed, currently sitting on the floor in a corner.

In the end, Ignis claimed one of the three small shelves in the medicine cabinet and unhappily considered laying his capped toothbrush in the sink cupboard alongside the one already there, but that still left quite a lot of toiletries that there simply wasn't room for. He finally sighed and resolved to store them in a basket in his bedroom, carrying them and a fresh towel to and from the bathroom whenever he had need. It would be terribly inconvenient, but a price he must be willing to pay for that kitchen.

Noctis had barely moved in all this time, and Ignis took a moment to wonder at how soundly his flatmate was apparently able to sleep - he hadn't been particularly quiet. The white cat had ventured back out into the open and was now glaring at Ignis as it huddled on Noctis's chest.

Ignis left to go shopping, carefully separating the items he would have needed for a dormitory and the items he only needed because he'd opted to rent a house instead. He used the credit card his uncle had given him for the former, intending to send him the receipts later, and paid for the latter with his personal funds.

He came back laden with household items and groceries. Noctis was finally up, but with bedhead and the same clothes he'd slept in and a muzzy look that suggested he'd only awakened recently. Rather ridiculous, considering it was a little past noon.

Ignis struggled inside with his bags and stopped in exasperation to find that the vermin had returned. He looked at Noctis, who was curled up on one of the dining room chairs like a child and lethargically spooning cereal into his mouth. "Hi," he mumbled.

"Hello," Ignis said. "Noctis, I presume?"

"Yeah. You can call me Noct. You got food?"

"Er...yes," Ignis said, a little taken aback. Some of the bags in his hands clearly contained groceries, and Noctis's remark had sounded a bit entitled. Not that Ignis minded sharing food, but he expected his flatmates to be polite about it. "Noctis-- Noct, please be careful in future. I could not find where the beasts have been getting in otherwise, so I assume we shall just have to be vigilant about keeping the doors and windows shut."

Noctis blinked at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"The-- cats." Ignis came the rest of the way in and deposited his shopping on the dining room table. "Would you mind putting away the things that need to be kept cold while I get the rest?"

His flatmate looked even more confused, though the request had been quite clear. " _Huh_?"

"The milk and such. They should be put into the refrigerator straight away."

"Okay...?"

By the time Ignis had finished bringing in all the shopping, the milk was in the refrigerator, but nothing else was. "Noct," he said in exasperation, wondering how on earth the young man could have misunderstood, "there's eggs, too, and cheese."

"Oh," Noctis said warily, like he had no idea what point Ignis was trying to make. Ignis wondered if the boy was a dullard. "Never mind." He started putting things away. Noctis didn't lift a finger to help, only started petting a cat that had jumped into his lap. "At the very least, you could start getting rid of the cats!" Ignis finally paused to say in exasperation.

At that, Noctis finally showed a spark of animation, turning quickly to frown at him. "What?" he said sharply.

"The _cats_. They are clearly feral."

"They're not feral, they're strays. Ferals won't let you pet them unless you're really, _really_ patient and careful. And they don't meow."

Ignis stared at him, feeling that they were not at all on the same page. Noctis stared back, looking as if he felt the same. "Noct, please get all these cats out of the house."

"They're not hurting anything," Noctis said indignantly.

"They're _unsanitary_." Ignis gave up and started getting rid of the cats himself, clapping his hands sharply and stomping after them. "Get out. Shoo."

"What are you _doing_?! You're scaring them!"

Ignis stared. It slowly began to dawn on him that Noctis was apparently fond of cats to the point where he might have actually allowed, perhaps even _encouraged_ , these dirty beasts into the house. "Noctis," he said, slowly and clearly, "this dwelling is not approved for pets. We will be evicted if the landlord finds evidence of animals in here."

"They're not pets," Noctis grumbled, "they were only visiting." But at last, with great reluctance, he started to pick up cats and gently deposit them outside, crooning apologies all the way. "Don't mind him, he's just a grump."

Ignis rolled his eyes and continued to put groceries away.

o.o.o

"Woooww, Gladdy, this place is a dump!" Iris laughed as she tumbled out of the car.

"Thanks so much, it's not like I chose it for your sake or anything," Gladio said good-naturedly. He watched his little sister scamper up the front walk and burst uninvited into the house, calling cheerful greetings to whoever was inside and receiving low murmured replies. She shouldn't be barging in on strangers like that, but these guys _were_ going to be his roommates for at least the next few months, so it would probably be okay.

"It is rather...subpar," his dad said dubiously, coming up to stand beside him.

"Ah, it won't kill me or anything, and it really is a good location. If Iris ever calls, I can be there in minutes, even without a car." They'd combined picking up Iris from her first day at the studio with helping him move into his new rent house. He liked the idea of being much closer in reach of his sister during her semester program than he'd be if he kept living at the manor.

"I admit I do rest easier knowing that you're so close." They each grabbed a batch of stuff and carried it into the house.

Iris was perched on a couch that looked like it might break if Gladio sat on it, chattering at a slightly bemused young man who matched Noctis Caelum's profile. Another man, Ignis Scientia by the look of him, was hard at work scrubbing the inside of the refrigerator. The house looked old and cramped, and there was a mostly-white cat sitting on the stairs which Gladio was pretty sure was against the rules, but this house's inhabitants wouldn't be living quite as on top of each other as they had at his very first student housing, where five guys and three girls had shared a four-bed/two-bath home. That had been chaotic but fun.

"Hi," Gladio said, approaching Noctis first for a handshake and then Ignis, "I'm Gladio. This is my dad, Clarus, and my sister, Iris. We know how we're gonna handle the bedroom situation yet, or...?" They were supposed to have four residents sharing three rooms, and since Gladio wasn't the first one here, he didn't know if Ignis, Noctis, and possibly Prompto had already discussed arrangements or not.

"The third room behind the stairs is still free," Ignis said. "You're welcome to get your things settled."

Gladio took a single step into the room, looked at the tiny twin bed, laughed, and stepped back out. "Yeah, nope. I'm not even gonna fit on that bed."

There wasn't...really a reply. Noctis just sort of blinked, and Ignis went back to cleaning. Iris bounded into the little bedroom, then fell out again, laughing. "No waaayyy!" She darted upstairs.

Noctis just went back to playing some handheld game, but Ignis abruptly put down his scrub brush and went up the stairs, calling, "Pardon me...!"

The bedrooms up here were a lot better, but they both already had stuff in them. One was neat as a pin; the other had a pile of crap on the desk and another pile on the bed and suitcases just lying open in the middle of the floor. Ignis was edging Iris out of presumably his room in a way that made Gladio grit his teeth a little, and the bespectacled man shut the door decisively. "I'd appreciate keeping my privacy, if you please," Ignis was saying.

"So I guess it's you and me switching, Noct?" Gladio called down.

"What?" Noctis called back.

"Rooms are decided on a first-come, first-serve basis," Ignis said. "As Noct and I arrived earlier, we were able to take first pick. As I said, you're welcome to the third bedroom."

Gladio stared. "Scientia. I literally _will not fit_ on that bed."

Ignis's mouth tightened, but his tone was coldly polite as he said, "Perhaps Noct would be willing to trade beds."

Gladio and his dad did end up carrying beds up and down the stairs. The twin looked even more pathetic with much of Noct's mattress topper dangling over the edges, and the double bed barely fit in the ground floor bedroom, but with Ignis being such an uptight prick, it would have to do. Gladio didn't intend to spend much time in his room, anyway, and the bed was big enough to bang someone in, so he wouldn't waste time complaining.

The closet was another problem, though. "Noctis," he explained, trying to be patient, "I have a lot more clothes than you do." The freshman's wardrobe was weird: nearly all black and high quality, but 97% of it very informal. "Can I at least keep some of my clothes in your closet?"

Noctis frowned at him. "What do you need with so many clothes?"

Gladio raised an eyebrow, because did this kid have a social life? Did he honestly think that an armful of street clothes were enough to cover a healthy variety of dates and outings and events?

"Let me show you something," Ignis said, and proceeded to demonstrate how to fold clothes into neat little packets. Gladio sat there on his new bed in his tiny room and stared incredulously over Ignis's head at Iris, who was at the threshold clamping both hands over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"Yeah, that's great, Iggy," Gladio said, making a sloppy attempt to copy the technique. He made up an excuse to leave the room as soon as he could. After about an hour, all his clothes had been folded into tidy, attractive rows that somehow magically fit in his tiny closet, but Ignis was crazy if he thought Gladio had either the time or the interest in keeping up with such a finicky system. "Thanks, Iggy," he said cheerfully. "I'll call you when I need more clothes folded."

"The point is that you know how to do it yourself now," Ignis said peevishly. Gladio hoped that Ignis's delusions made him happy.

They'd ordered pizza by then. Ignis had declined and was now cooking something in the kitchen; Noctis had simply requested anything without vegetables. They all ate together in the little living room and adjoined dining room, Iris cheerfully carrying most of the conversation, and then it was time for Gladio's family to go.

He hugged them tightly. "Good luck with Iggy," Iris whispered to him.

"I'm think I'm gonna need it," he chuckled back. He turned to his father for a man-hug. "Bye, Dad."

"Take care, son."

Then they were gone. Gladio stood for a minute with his hands in his pockets, surveying in the place. Noctis was lounging on the couch playing his game again, the tinny music the only sound other than clinking from the kitchen where Ignis was washing dishes. Gladio looked at the entry to his room - his ridiculous room with its ridiculous closet and the ridiculous bed he'd stolen from Noct. He ought to prank Ignis sometime by switching rooms with him while the guy was out.

He wandered to the dining area and peered into the bathroom. It was not going to be at all pleasant to use; the shower head and toilet were too low and there wasn't _room_ for anything. His bath towel was crammed on the rack with the hand towel that had already been there; his toiletries took up all the empty space in the medicine cabinet and the little cabinet above the sink; and since even that hadn't been enough, he'd just stuck his toiletry bag with the rest of his things on the sink behind one of the faucet handles. That first house, crowded as it was, had at least had much bigger bathroom cabinets and plenty of shelves.

Gladio turned around and abruptly realized he was being stared at. The front door had opened soundlessly and a heavyset blond kid was peering into the house, looking kind of terrified. "Hi," Gladio ventured. "You Argentum?"

The sink shut off and Ignis came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron, and Noctis looked up from his game. The blond kid backed away, and they all gathered in the doorway to look at their final roommate curiously.

TBC

A/N: I have wanted to write an FF15 "No Prophecy/Royalty" AU and/or a "Chocobros didn't grow up together" AU for a long time, but none of my ideas clicked until this one. Take everything in this story with a grain of salt, since I am a woman and I never lived in student housing and I've only ever had one roommate, so obviously I have no firsthand experience of being a young man living with multiple college roommates (most of what I know is from my siblings' experiences). I still thought it would be fun to see what the chocobros would think about each other if they were strangers who suddenly had to live together.

I absolutely headcanon that Ignis is a big fan of Marie Kondo's folding technique. (Ftr, I love Marie Kondo's "Keep only what sparks joy" philosophy, but I ain't got time to fold clothes at all, much less her perfectionist way. X'''D)

I couldn't resist the temptation to start yet another new fic, but I have some good news! I have finished the main story for [_Leading My Brothers To the Promised Land_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686463), I just need to type it up and fix a couple of choreography issues. I also hand-wrote Gladio's Promised Land story, though I need to figure out how to end it, and I made a good start on Cor's.

Regarding [_Gifts From the Sea_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183363), I made my first attempt in a month to write my 300 words yesterday - it was difficult going and most of the 300 words I managed to produce were garbage. However, I did some planning in the interim, and today's writing session went _much_ better: I fixed yesterday's crap and then drafted an additional 1,000 words, so go me!

As for this new fic, Chapter 1 was like 7,000 words, which is much longer than I like to post on my initial runs; it's divided into four sections, but Noct's, Iggy's, & Gladio's sections each averaged 1,400 words, whereas Prompto's section was twice as long and about the size of my ideal chapters, so I had a lot of difficulty trying to figure out how to post Chapter 1. X''D I eventually decided to split Chapter 1 into two parts, with Prompto getting the second portion all to himself. Anyway, I'm hoping to finish the main story in the next few installments, then write the rest of the AU in one-shots or short multi-chapters, similar to what I'm doing with Promised Land.


	2. Chapter 1.2

**_Housemates_ ** **, a Final Fantasy XV fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 1.2 (rough draft)**

Prompto was exhausted. He'd been up at the crack of dawn to make it to the intercity bus stop on time, disheartened that his parents - well, the Argentums; they'd made it pretty clear that they weren't his parents anymore as soon as he turned 18 - hadn't even been there when he'd closed the door of their quiet, empty house for the very last time.

He'd endured the long trip and then, once he reached the city, was extremely thankful that he had a smartphone. It was an outdated, glitchy thing he'd bought secondhand when he was sixteen, but it had worked well enough to help him figure out which bus routes to take to get to the place where he was supposed to live this semester.

There had been two transfers, even with the phone he'd still made a mistake and it ended up being three transfers, then it had been a long walk from the last bus stop to the house deep in the neighborhood. He'd finally made it as the sun was setting, tired and weighed down with everything he owned in the world tucked into his suitcase, backpack, and duffel bag.

If he screwed up college, he was done for. He had debated whether to even go to college, but he hadn't been able to get a full-time job before graduation and he'd really lucked out with that four-year scholarship and college, if nothing else, bought time to figure out what the heck he was supposed to do with his life, so here he was.

He had his key ready, but the door was already unlocked. No one answered his timid knock, so he opened the door as quietly as he could so as not to disturb anyone.

His eyes immediately locked onto one of the biggest non-fat people he'd ever seen in his life. The guy was so tall and ripped, he looked like he could easily break Prompto, and Prompto wasn't exactly small himself. Prompto was just about to ease backward and reconsider his life choices when the behemoth noticed him.

Prompto backed away, realizing he'd made a mistake. He should never have come here. He'd just intruded on the home of three outrageously handsome men whose clothes and self-assurance practically screamed that they'd never wanted for money. Besides the giant, there was a guy with classic Lucian good looks right out of a history book and a sandy-haired man with such straight-backed elegance he looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine. They were all staring at the fat sweaty Niff kid who'd appeared on their doorstep, obviously wondering what on Eos he was doing here, and he was right on the verge of turning around and high-tailing it to the nearest bridge to sleep under when one of them called, "Prompto Argentum?"

He gulped and tried to speak. Couldn't, so he raised a hand instead.

"Hi," said the one who looked like a Lucian prince of old. "Hey, do you like cats?"

Prompto blinked in confusion, but before he could answer, the one who looked like a fashion model snapped, "The cats are not a negotiable matter, Noctis."

"Hey, come on in," the behemoth called, "there's some pizza left--" He looked over his shoulder, then amended, "There's one slice of pizza left, but you're welcome to it."

Prompto gulped and tried to move, but couldn't get his foot to lift off the ground. He wasn't used to...people who looked like these guys did treating him like he was...not just normal, but _welcomed_. Now that he wasn't a kid anymore, the best he usually got was polite indifference.

There was an awkward pause. "As you will," said the fashion model, who had a Tenebraean accent. He turned away, looking dismissive and kind of disappointed. Prompto swallowed and finally managed a step.

"Here, you need help with your bags?" the huge guy said, striding out into the twilight, and Prompto froze again. He watched miserably as the guy plucked his duffel bag and suitcase out of his hands and carried them off, but then the guy just...slung them inside the house instead of tossing them up to the roof or something like Prompto had half-expected, so...that was good.

The prince - Noctis? - was the last one left, now looking awkward, of all things. "Uh, I'm Noct," he said. "Hey, so...there's only three rooms, and my bed's a twin now, and I dunno if you and Gladio'll even fit in the same bed, and Ignis is--" he lowered his voice briefly to whisper, "--kind of an asshole, so he definitely won't share, but...there's a couch?"

Prompto felt some of his tension ease. Noct even looked like he felt bad about delivering the news, which was nice of him. "Oh. Uh, cool." He paused uncertainly until Noct finally backed up enough to free up room in the doorway for Prompto to pass through. Prompto stepped in and glanced around at the house, which looked warm and cozy.

"So that's Gladio's room," Noct said, gesturing at a doorway right across from them. "Ignis and I are upstairs, and that's the living room, uh, I guess the dining room, bathroom, and kitchen." The house was so small that, with the exception of the bathroom and the interior of Gladio's room, Prompto could see most of the first floor from where he stood.

"Cool," he said again, wishing he could think of something smarter to say. His eyes fell on the lone slice of pizza sitting on the dining room table. Ignis-or-Gladio - the Tenebraean fashion model - was setting it on a plate and hauling the empty pizza boxes away, and Gladio-or-Ignis - the giant - was sprawled on the couch, tapping at his phone.

"You can have the pizza," Noct said.

"Thanks." Prompto hadn't had time for breakfast and was too scared of running out of money to have more than a couple of protein bars for lunch (he'd meant to ration his protein bars, but...he'd been so _hungry_ , he hadn't been able to resist gobbling up that second bar). He timidly crossed the room and looked around, but no one was looking at him except for Noct, and Noct was still sort of hovering near the front door. Prompto picked up the pizza and nibbled on it. He felt like he was stealing, even though two people had offered it to him for free. At the first bite, his stomach growled loudly, and he winced.

"You can sit down, you know," the big guy snorted, glancing at him. Prompto immediately dropped, then regretted it a little. The dining room chairs were un-cushioned wood and not very comfortable.

"Prompto," the fashion model said, marching out of the kitchen and making Prompto jump, "do you mind terribly if I put your luggage in the closet?"

"Oh, uh, no, go ahead," Prompto stammered.

"Thank you." Fashion Model firmly shut the three grubby pieces of luggage out of sight, then fetched a broom and started aggressively sweeping, grumbling something about cat hair. Noct abruptly hurried up the stairs without a word, a cute little white cat springing alongside him.

It was an awkward evening. Prompto finished eating his pizza, then, not daring to move because there didn't really seem to be space for him in this house, took out his phone. He tried to memorize his new class schedule, then spent about an hour applying for jobs, then just pretended to continue being occupied with his phone, all the while trying harder and harder to ignore how hungry he still was and how sore his butt was getting from sitting on the uncomfortable wooden chair.

Fashion Model whirled around the house with cleaning supplies as if he found every spot of dirt deeply offensive. Manly Man soon took over the bathroom - the shower water didn't run for long, but the guy spent nearly forty additional minutes making himself even handsomer until Super Clean Fashion Model went from polite knocking to extremely irritated lecturing.

Manly Man finally burst out of the bathroom in a wave of fittingly manly cologne looking like a rock star, and called a careless goodbye to the house in general before heading out to catch his rideshare. Super Clean Fashion Model did a lot of outraged grumbling that had Prompto cringing in his chair even though none of it was directed at him - he didn't dare look around, but he fervently resolved to tidy up after himself whenever he used the bathroom for any reason. He absolutely did not want to give Super Clean Fashion Model any reason to grumble at _him_ like that.

After Super Clean Fashion Model had fixed the bathroom to his satisfaction, he locked the door. He, too, didn't take long to shower, then poked his head out and made Prompto jump when he asked if Prompto needed the bathroom for anything.

"N-No, uh, I'm good," Prompto lied. He really needed to pee, but Super Clean Fashion Model was already in there and Prompto was an adult now. He could hold it.

Super Clean Fashion Model nodded and said he was welcome to knock if he needed anything, then shut the door most of the way but not enough for it to latch. He spent about half an hour in there doing whatever, then came out again and went back into the kitchen. Prompto waited another minute to make sure Super Clean Fashion Model was truly occupied, then rose to his feet and tried to make it into the bathroom without hobbling. After two back-to-back sessions of primping, it smelled really good - these guys obviously used higher-quality products than Prompto did.

Prompto sighed in relief when his bladder was empty, washed his hands, wondered whether it was okay to use the hand towel to wipe off the water he'd splashed around the sink in the process, then ended up using the hem of his own shirt. He looked around, but he hadn't disturbed anything else. He opened the door again and was startled to see Super Clean Fashion Model passing by right at that moment.

"Oh - good night, Prompto," he said. "I'm about to retire for the evening."

"Uh, oh! G-Good night," Prompto managed. The guy nodded and disappeared upstairs, so Prompto tentatively decided that he was probably Ignis.

Prompto was alone on the ground floor at last. The bathroom light was still on and Ignis(?) had left the light over the kitchen sink and the patio lights on, but everything else was off. Since Prompto was hesitant to turn anything back on, he left the bathroom light as it was so he wouldn't be fumbling _too_ much in the dark.

With the bathroom's glow mostly hidden behind the wall, he fished his luggage out of the closet, hoping Ignis(?) wouldn't come back downstairs and catch him. First, he took a moment to pet Fluffy. He would never dare take her out of his luggage and let the guys here know she existed, but he hadn't been able to bear leaving her behind to get thrown away. She was faded and floppy with age, but he'd had the little stuffed chocobo ever since he'd been a baby and she was still a comfort to him, even now that he was an adult (not that he freaking _felt_ like one...).

Taking a deep breath, he tucked Fluffy back out of sight. He dug out a clean outfit and the plastic bag containing his toiletries, wishing he had a pair of pajamas. He usually slept in T-shirts and shorts, but he felt uncomfortable leaving his ugly legs exposed in a house where other people could see him.

Hoping that Noct wouldn't need the bathroom soon, Prompto showered, brushed his teeth, and changed into a fresh shirt and sweatpants as quickly as he could. He did his best to clean up after himself and then took his stuff to pack back in his bags. He shut all his luggage in the closet, turned off the bathroom light, then, in the dim lights from the kitchen and outside, inspected the curtains until he figured out how to unfasten them and draw them shut ( _actual curtains_ instead of blinds, this house was so old and weird and cute...). Then he attempted to get comfortable on the couch, but it was too small and lumpy for that to be possible. He didn't have a blanket, but that was all right, it wasn't too cold.

After lying there for a while, his stomach occasionally growling with hunger, the house feeling dark and lonely and silent except for video game noises wafting from upstairs, he went to fetch his earbuds out of his backpack and plugged them into his phone. The music helped pass the time better, but he still couldn't sleep.

At about 10:00, Noct came down to use the toilet, then padded back upstairs.

A little after midnight, a car stopped outside the house. Prompto caught his breath, but then he heard the rumble of Gladio's(?) voice. A car door slammed, and the vehicle drove away. Heavy footsteps plodded up to the door, then a key rattled in the lock. Gladio(?) flipped a switch as soon as he stepped inside, and the sudden burst of light made Prompto involuntarily whimper and fling an arm over his eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Gladio(?) realized, and the light shut off again. He used his phone as a flashlight, which was almost as painful, so Prompto kept his eyes covered until he heard the bathroom door shut.

Gladio(?) spent about ten minutes messing around in the bathroom, then exited again. Prompto clapped a hand to his mouth to stifle a gasp - the man was buck naked. Prompto _tried_ to look away, but he couldn't help peeking in fascination. He couldn't get over both how unfairly perfect the guy's body was and how utterly unembarrassed he was - though maybe he was only so confident because he thought no one was watching. Prompto was not about to enlighten him.

Mr. Perfect Bod went into the tiny bedroom behind the stairs for a minute (so he was definitely Gladio, then), before strolling back to the bathroom. A minute later, he went to the kitchen (still naked), drank something out of the fridge with a satisfied sigh, then went back to his room, pausing for a minute to adjust the A/C. Then he went to bed, leaving his door open and the bathroom light on.

Prompto crept off the couch to turn off the bathroom light, not wanting to incur Ignis's wrath. Then he lay down again, but after a while, he started to shiver. It became apparent that Gladio must have turned the temperature down _really_ low, because Prompto eventually went for his luggage and piled all his clothes over himself in an attempt to keep warm.

A little after 1:00, Noct came down hugging himself and looked around. "Where's the damn thermostat?" he muttered.

"I think it's on the wall there," Prompto whispered, freeing an arm still shaking with cold so he could point.

"Oh. Thanks." Noct adjusted the thermostat, and to Prompto's relief, the A/C shut off. Noct disappeared back upstairs.

About an hour later, just when Prompto was starting to doze, there was some shifting and grunting from the room behind the stairs, then Gladio in his naked glory came marching out and adjusted the thermostat. Prompto stifled a groan of dismay.

Gladio went back to bed and Prompto tried to endure the growing cold, but after a while, he couldn't stand it. He finally got desperate enough to get up and start looking for blankets, but there were none downstairs. He crept up to the second floor, but there were only two doors, one of them closed. Peering into the second bedroom, he saw Noct curled up on a mattress on the floor, wrapped up tightly in a blanket burrito with only a tuft of his hair showing, bathed in blue light from the TV that was also on the floor.

Prompto exhaled silently. He debated whether to turn off the TV, decided to leave it the way Noct wanted it, and went back downstairs. There were no spare towels in the bathroom, but there was a damp one hanging from the rack and a luxurious-looking bathrobe, both of them monogrammed with the initials G.A. He hesitated, but he was _so freaking cold_ and neither of those letters was I for Ignis, so he finally dared to steal the towel and bathrobe. Together with his spare clothes, maybe he would survive the night without freezing to death.

He was still alive come morning, but he was nearly numb with cold and had barely gotten a wink of sleep. It was all he could do not to break into hysterical laughter when Ignis padded downstairs a little after 5:00 and turned up the temperature with a quiet curse before disappearing into the bathroom to start his day.

TBC

A/N: That's it for Chapter 1. I don't know how fast updates will be since I want to prioritize GFtS and Promised Land, but the more interest there is, the more of an effort I'll make!


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